


Tintenblume

by tearsofftea



Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, Reincarnation, Slow Burn, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Unrequited Love, very slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 08:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13232085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tearsofftea/pseuds/tearsofftea
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a duck who had only one wish: to become a human girl so she could help her sad prince smile again. After long battles and a lot of suffering, the duck girl and the knight were able to finally give the prince's heart back and reunite him with his real princess. In the end, the duck girl did have a happy ending, for she stayed at the side of her bright knight forever. It's been centuries, and the events of "The Prince and the Raven" have become part of Goldcrown Town's folklore. Nothing more than fairytales and gibberish for little boys and girls.Spring seems bright for the clumsy Ahiru, she's back to Goldcrown Town after being two years away and is now working with her dear friend Freya at her flower shop. Even Ahiru can't remember that she was once the bright and graceful Princess Tutu, for the years have passed and her disastrous personality is the same, no matter how many times she's born.At the other side of the street, just in front of the flower shop, stands a tattoo parlor. In there, the Knight, Fakir, has no recollection of his adventures with the duck girl. He doesn't remember being at her side, much less falling in love with her.The thing is, they hate each other.





	Tintenblume

The calming sound of the train against the rail tracks, the soft music playing for the passengers, the voice of a mother singing to her baby beside the redhaired made the young girl fall asleep; though it felt not much longer when the loud TOOT from the train’s horn woke her up.

“Woah!” Ahiru exclaimed, jumping in her seat and startling a few passengers, included the woman with the baby near her. She noticed and immediately regretted being such a scandalous person; curse her hyperactive personality.  “Sorry…” she whispered shyly. The passengers didn’t seem to care much about the girl’s apology, for they returned to take out their belongings from the cabinets above them. _Was it time already?_ the girl thought, she felt as if she had slept for only five minutes, but when she looked at her watch, it was already two hours after she’d gone to sleep.

Ahiru looked through the train’s window and saw several houses, a big park and the stream that had always been there. Children playing with their parents, birds flying and the bright sky were the things that the redhead had always loved from the town. She missed it here, two years did make her feel nostalgic about her hometown. She could almost smell the grass watered with a little fall of rain from last night, the fresh bread, fruit and vegetables around the different places in the market, the lack of the toxic air from the city. The whispers of the soft breeze, the laugh of children and the view of some farms with strawberry fields from high places.

Ahiru’s thoughts were interrupted by some music that came from the train’s speakers, followed by a woman’s voice that said:

_Dear Passengers: We’ve arrived at Gold Crown Town, please check that all of your belongings are with you and proceed to the nearest exit. Exit the train carefully. For those who will remain with us, please remain seated, we will leave Goldcrown Town in fifteen minutes. Thank you for your attention._

The female voice faded away with the same melody from before. Ahiru stepped out fast from her seat and took her baggage out of the cabinet. She rushed to the exit and held onto the wall as the train stopped. The doors opened and the people started to find their way out of the train, making an unnecessary mess which Ahiru had to go through. Needless to say, the redhead had the grace of a duck (not a swan, but a duck) and kept tripping while walking through so many people. The lots of passengers who were welcomed by their loved ones made the girl jealous since she had no one to come for her; it was kind of her fault really, only her landlady knew she was coming back but not when, and still, Ahiru felt bad about nobody showing up.  

The girl stretched her arms and legs while trying to find the station´s entrance, so she could find some transport to take her to her building. She noticed a few people watching her as they passed by, this made her kind of uneasy since she wasn’t used to being looked at. Maybe she was wearing something inappropriate? But when she looked at her clothes she found her flower printed overall, her yellow shirt and her black ankle boots. Nothing too fancy or sloppy, she was wearing her usual kind of clothes. Or maybe the stares were due to her hair. She had cut it a few inches and it wasn´t as long as it used to be, but her rather annoying strand of hair which was always standing up like a feather was still there. Yeah, she kind of wished it away sometimes. Like now.

At the station’s entrance, there were several taxis and minivans the girl didn’t want to take, she thought of walking towards her apartment, but there were at least 20 minutes between the station and the building she lived in, and her baggage was kind of heavy. Just then, a rickshaw stopped next to her and a young couple got down from the cart, since the redhead wanted to pollute as less as possible, she opted for going on rickshaw; she paid the driver the proper amount and sat on the seat.

Gold Crown Town had changed a lot in just two years. Ahiru could observe several new buildings that gave the town a modern look, lots and lots of cafés and ice cream shops, fashion stores with their windows full of pretty dresses, skirts, shirts and various types of shoes. It also seemed that they had renewed the market plaza, it had way more stalls that sold even jewelry, souvenirs and others with all kinds of food Ahiru had never seen before. She thought of asking the man riding the rickshaw when had all these changes happened, for when she left no of the things she was seeing that day had been mentioned before her departure but chose to remain silent. She would ask all of this to her landlady, who was always looking for something to talk about and the town’s renovations were the perfect topic.

When Ahiru arrived to the small building she lived in, a surprise welcomed her. It seemed that someone was moving out, there were a truck, a mini-van and some men taking furniture out of the building and placing it in the back of the truck. The one moving out, Ahiru didn’t know her, was a middle-aged woman who walked out of the building yelling some profanities at the old woman who was walking after her: Mrs. Rudimnov, Ahiru’s landlady. The duck girl was excited to see the woman but immediately felt bad for her, the other miss was yelling some awful stuff to Mrs. Rudimnov, who just kept silent and gazing towards the floor. Ahiru couldn’t take it, her landlady had been the closest thing to a mother the girl had ever had and didn’t stand there with her arms crossed over her chest. She walked towards the woman and Mrs. Rudimnov.

—EXCUSE ME! — Ahiru intervened, stepping in front of Mrs. Rudimnov, legs separated and arms at her sides with her hands forming really tight fists. —May I let you know that whether Mrs. Rudimnov kicked you out or you decided to leave, it is no reason for you to yell at her, especially if moving out was a decision of yours. This poor woman behind me was kind enough to lend you a little roof to live under for only a few dollars a month, I find it absolutely rude that you’re speaking in such a way to her. — Ahiru’s face was completely red from anger, it was only a matter of time until she exploded and didn’t think in giving a punch on the face to the woman, for all the redhead cared she’d do it anyways.

—Such a rude young lady! Don’t you know? She’s kicking out everyone! Last week the Mirtens had to move out because _she_ — the woman pointed at Mrs. Rudimnov, her face filled with anger while the latter’s one was filled with shame and fear. — told them she couldn’t have them here anymore. Here I was, thinking they were leaving because of the party incident from a month ago. But no! Yesterday she came to my apartment, rambling about _me_ having to move out because the conditions of the building weren’t appropriate anymore. _I_ was the one living here, I could have perfectly noticed if the conditions weren’t “appropriate”. — the woman flexed her fingers up and down. — And I think she is only throwing us out because she’s already got our money, and well, what does she care about us not having somewhere to live in if she’s got the money from rents, right? —the lady finished her speech full of anger, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ahiru was speechless. Certainly, Mrs. Rudimnov was kind of wrong in kicking out the woman with such an excuse, but since the duck girl didn’t fully know the circumstances, she didn’t know who to defend.

The woman huffed, crossing her arms and walking towards her car.

—In any case, I’ll be sure to tell my acquaintances about this shameful incident. So, be prepared for some really bad feedback on your building! — the woman yelled as she got into her car, slamming the door and turning her vehicle on.

Ahiru and Mrs. Rudimnov watched as the (ogre) woman and the truck drifted away in the distance. _“She’s kicking out everyone!”_ Ahiru thought about the woman’s harsh words and began to feel uneasy about coming back to Goldcrown.

—Ahiru, dear, I don’t know how to thank you! —once the angry woman was gone, Mrs. Rudimnov turned to Ahiru and took both her hands in hers. —You should have told me you were coming back today! I thought you’d arrive later this week. If I had known I would have sent one of my sons for you. — Ah, but what did Ahiru care if Mrs. Rudimnov was actually kicking people out? This lady was sweet as always. The girl couldn’t contain her emotion and tightly hugged the woman, the latter did the same.

—Don’t worry, Mrs. Rudimnov. I came here in a rickshaw. —Ahiru smiled, letting go of the woman and moving away some of her hair off her face.

—How could I _not_ worry? — the elder gave Ahiru one of her “Don’t tell me what to do” looks and even smiled a little. —You’re practically one of my kids, of course I’d be worried. I wish I was at least at the station to pick you up. —Mrs. Rudimnov was one of those women who took care of every single person she knew younger than her as if they were her own children.

Although Ahiru wasn’t really a child anymore. She was already twenty-three, a full-grown woman. Not the most beautiful, and definitely not the brightest or the one with the most grace, but she was herself, and to Ahiru that was all that had always mattered: being her genuine self.

—It’s fine, Mrs. Rudimnov. I didn’t mind coming alone, it was rather fun. The rickshaw trip was kind of revealing: Goldcrown has sure changed. — . Suddenly, this fact made her react. Sure, she wasn’t that intelligent or intuitive, but the incident with the (ogre) woman did tell her that something had been going on since she was gone. Maybe Mrs. Rudimnov had a reason for telling everyone to leave the building but, if so, Ahiru would have to leave as well. — But, not only Goldcrown has changed. — the redhead looked down and erased the little smile on her face. ­— Say, Mrs. Rudimnov, are you really kicking out everyone in the building? — she looked directly into the other woman’s eyes as she turned to her.


End file.
